The AgroEcos team, composed of members from three countries (UK, Bolivia and Brazil) will carry out participatory action research with community organisations in order to build and spread capacities for agroecological innovation. These include peasant, indigenous and women’s organisations. Research teams will form an action-research group with agroecological communities in three case-study areas: Bolivia’s Valle Central, Brazil’s Litoral Norte e Sul Fluminense (Costa Verde) and its Baixada Santista. In each territory we will:

• Identify and strengthen community capacities for an agroecology-based solidarity economy;

• Combine, test and refine culturally-grounded research methods for making those capacities more visible through multi-stakeholder knowledge co-production (diálogos de saberes).

In each case-study area, a series of three workshops will:

1 - Plan the research method;

2 - Develop capacity-building methods which participants will apply and evaluate, and;

3 - Discuss the results and broader practical uses of the research method.

Workshops will identify exemplary practices for knowledge co-production between agroecological communities and external expert bodies. Meanwhile the Latin American and International Advisory Panels will consult wider networks on the research methods and results. The final conference in São Paolo will bring together representatives of community participants, support organisations, public authorities and Latin American contributors to the FAO’s agroecology programme.